FEATURED ARTICLES ABOUT NEW PERSPECTIVE - PAGE 5

Tour guides like Mary McCarthy or Edith Wharton infuse Italy with a special magic, Los Angeles comes vividly alive through Joan Didion and, closer to home, an excursion to Wicker Park is enhanced by reading Nelson Algren. Armchair travel is one of the great, underestimated literary art forms. While it should in no way be traded for going there, if you can't make the trip there is no finer escort than a book. In this week's special spring issue, "Away With Words," Tribune travel writers, led by editor Randy Curwen, take us from the Midwest to both coasts on trails blazed by great writers.

Attorney Nancy Stoecker said she was curious to find out who the Democratic Party would run for the office of Kane County state's attorney come November. The answer: her. Stoecker said she took on the challenge after a chat with County Board member Paul Greviskes (D-Aurora). "I called him to ask who they were slating, and he said `Why don`t you run?` " Stoecker said. "So I decided to go for it." Stoecker is aware that no woman has ever been elected Kane County state's attorney.

Imagine being lost in Guadalajara with no knowledge of the language nor any idea how to find a bus home. Robert Ruffie of Villa Park faced that very situation last month while attending a cultural program in Mexico. "It was really scary," said Ruffie, a 4th-grade teacher at Army Trail Elementary School in Addison. "I tried to ask people, but I just butchered their language." Yet the results were positive both for Ruffie and his foreign-speaking students back home. "I know the bewildered look on their faces," Ruffie said.

By Laurie Casey, SPECIAL TO TRIBUNE NEWSPAPERS and Laurie Casey is a staff writer at The Morton Arboretum in Lisle | January 24, 2010

Looking for fresh inspiration for your garden? Dip into the world of fine art, says garden designer and author Gordon Hayward. An artist's view of the world can help you see your home landscape from a whole new perspective. "When I look at a painting, I ask, 'What's the way in?' Every painter will give you clues as to how your eye should enter and explore within," says Hayward, author of "Art and the Gardener: Fine Painting as Inspiration for Garden Design" (Gibbs Smith, 2008)

Born Brothers By Larry Woiwode Farrar, Straus Giroux, 611 pages, $18.95 One can hardly comment on Larry Woiwode's new novel, "Born Brothers," without wondering why a writer of prodigious lyrical strength has composed such a book. To play with style, giving material from his earlier "Beyond The Bedroom Wall" the stream-of-consciousness treatment? To perform self-psychoanalysis, using paper instead of a shrink? To justify his religiousness to an increasingly secular society?

Q-Our 5-year-old son lost both of his grandfathers this last year, and now I have concerns. We think we were wise to keep him away from the viewings and the funerals, but my uncle accused me of being an overprotective mother. He said we should let our son be in situations that he must face in the future. We didn't feel we were being overprotective; we just didn't think he was old enough to understand. We knew the casket would be open for both services and because we had told our son that his grandfathers had gone to heaven, we thought the viewing would cause a lot of confusion for him. Both grandfathers were too sick to enjoy their grandchild as much as they wanted, but we did go to see them every weekend.

Chances are his name will again appear as an afterthought in the Dallas Mavericks` box scores, if at all. Steve Alford is playing his second season in the NBA and second season deep on the Mavericks` bench. He`ll be able to measure any breakthrough literally in minutes, because he averaged 7 minutes in 28 games as a rookie. "I`m hoping that, this year, I`ll get some more playing time," Alford said. "I feel very comfortable and am getting my confidence back up." There was every reason for doubt to creep into Alford's conscience.

His knee feels better, his head's clear and his heart's back in the game. Zack Mills headed to Iowa this weekend with renewed purpose and, he hoped, another comeback under his belt. The Penn State quarterback said he was almost fully recovered from the knee injury that sidelined him for two games. And Mills is eager to take a hit or two. "Honestly, it was pretty scary that the game could be taken from me that quickly," the redshirt junior said. "It brought the hunger and drive back.

If the thought of heading home for the holidays makes you crave a Valium instead of a candy cane, you're not alone. For starters, shake the guilt. Just because you're less than enthusiastic about returning home doesn't mean there's anything wrong with you, says Terrence Koller, a psychologist in Evanston. Ill.: "Don't over-dramatize the situation. The holidays are short-lived. You may feel very differently in a week." Find out how other people feel, adds Koller. Not only does misery loves company but discussing your anxiety with friends can give you a new perspective.

When we last saw the House, they were in a different house. On Sunday night, the House Theatre of Chicago begins the next phase of its existence at the Chopin Theatre in Wicker Park. This company first made its hot-shot reputation at The Viaduct on the North Side -- famous for its expansive, fully flexible performance space and a bar in the lobby. Both of those things were an integral part of the initial House experience. And neither is a part of the Chopin experience -- although a liquor license is pending.